Salt Lake County District Court Case Search

The District Courts of Salt Lake County provide public access to case information. Requesters may use records requests submitted by mail or in-person to search these records. Each request should have some information about the court case of interest, which will be used for a case search. Requesters may use the parties' names, case numbers, filing dates, or attorneys on record to conduct a case search.

A Salt Lake County District Court case search may produce documents like case filings, pleadings, rulings, orders, motions, judgments, appeals, and exhibits. Requesters may need these documents for background checks, legal research, or case trial or hearing preparation. The public may also search this county’s court cases online through the Xchange: Public Case Search portal.

What Kinds of cases have been heard in Salt Lake District Court?

Salt Lake County District Court is a trial court with wide jurisdiction. This court is strategic as this is where most cases in the county and state originate from. The District Court has jurisdiction over the following cases:

• Criminal cases: The District Court may handle criminal cases involving misdemeanors, such as Class A misdemeanors. It also oversees felony cases.
• Civil cases: This court handles a wide range of civil matters, such as contract disagreements, property disputes, business disputes, personal injury claims, defamation, and more.
• Probate cases: The Probate Court handles estate administration and Wills, as well as guardianships and conservatorships.
• Family law cases: The Family Division of this court handles cases involving divorce, child custody, adoption, domestic abuse or violence, child support, and paternity cases.

Other specialized divisions include the Juvenile Court, which handles cases involving minors, and the Drug Courts, which handle matters of substance abuse within the law.

Salt Lake County District Court

Salt Lake has District Courts in place of District Courts. The District Courts function as trial courts with a wide scope of legal matters it may handle. It is the court of first instance for most cases, which makes it important for legal dispute resolution. This court may handle an extensive range of cases through the Criminal Division and Civil Division. The Criminal Division handles cases of felonies and some serious misdemeanors. In contrast, the Civil Division handles civil disputes such as personal injury claims, contract matters, business disputes, property disputes, and more.

The District Court also has other special divisions, such as the Probate Division, Family Division, and Juvenile Court. The District Court has a presiding judge, and there are usually jury proceedings. This court entertains cases for the purpose of fact-finding, and while its decisions are binding, they are subject to review by higher courts. Salt Lake County District Court may be accessed using this contact information:

Salt Lake County District Court
450 South State Street
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
(801) 238-7334

Salt Lake County Case Lookup

Almost anyone may look up Salt Lake County cases according to the provisions of the Utah Public Records Law. Requesters may use in-person, online, or mail requests to search court cases. Use the following tips to look up Salt Lake County court cases:

In-person searches

In-person searches involve physically submitting requests for records at the county courthouses. These requests may be submitted to the court clerk’s office between 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays. When submitting them, requesters must include case details, which will be the anchor for the case search. Requesters may also use public access terminals for case lookups at $0.10 per page. There is no need to book an appointment ahead of time where search requests are simple but complex requests may require a notice from the court beforehand.

Mail-in searches

The public may mail records requests to the court clerk’s office accompanied by details of the case requested. These requests may be submitted in writing or using the required forms by the clerk’s office. Requesters may expect mail-in requests to be processed in at least a week due to the delays in sorting and delivering mail. While you generally do not pay any fees for searches, if copies are requested, these copies must be paid for using the available payment options. The public is advised to use self-addressed stamped envelopes for mail-in requests, which will ensure their response is delivered.

Online searches

Requesters may access Salt Lake County court cases online through the Xchange: Public Case Search website. This webpage leads to the Utah Courts Xchange website, which requires registration of an account or payment of a fee to search court cases as a guest. You may conduct the search by inputting the required information, such as names or case numbers. You may access all types of court cases, such as criminal and civil cases, through this website. However, sensitive or restricted court cases may only be accessible in person through the court clerk’s office. Recent documents also may not be available where there is a delay in uploading data to the court archives.

Salt Lake District Court Case Search by Name

When using a name search, common names may confuse the search result or make it clumsy. This may be avoided by conducting the search using extra information such as filing dates or case numbers. The public may also conduct a search by name online through the Public Case Search website.

Salt Lake District Court Docket Search

Salt Lake County court dockets are public records of case events from the point of filing until the case is decided. They are a comprehensive and chronological log of case events that may include details like the names of parties, attorneys or records, filing dates, motions, pleadings, orders, rulings, judgments, appeals, trials, and hearing dates.

Court dockets contain information that helps with staying up to date with court case events while encouraging transparency and openness in the judiciary. The public may access court dockets of cases by submitting requests to the court clerk’s office in person or by mail. Requesters may access court docket information through the Xchange: Public Case Search. This platform provides a case search portal through which public case information may be searched.

Lookup Salt Lake County District Court Online

Salt Lake County District Court records are accessible through requests submitted by mail, in person, or through online resources such as the Xchange: Public Case Search website. This platform provides access to a search portal, which may be used after registering an account or as a guest.

Requesters must note that payment is required to access this portal as a guest. Some third-party platforms allow requesters to access Salt Lake County District Court records, such as Utahcourtrecords.us. These websites are online records archives that are accessible using a mobile device or computer and an internet connection. However, such platforms are unofficial sources. As such, the accuracy of results cannot be guaranteed.

Supreme Court vs. District Court

The Salt Lake County District Court is a trial-level court with original jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. This court has the authority to handle cases involving domestic relations, criminal felonies, and civil cases such as contract matters and property disputes. Cases in Salt Lake County originate from the District Court. While the court’s judgment is binding, it is not final, as it is subject to appeal by higher courts.

The Supreme Court of Utah is the highest court in the state’s judicial hierarchy. This court is an appellate court that handles appeals from lower courts such as the Court of Appeals and the District Court. The Supreme Court maintains appellate jurisdiction over cases where the lower court’s decision needs to be reviewed. Cases are entertained on the basis of answering cogent legal questions of state law or correcting errors in legal interpretation by lower courts. Unlike the District Court, which has a judge for each court, the Supreme Court has five justices who are appointed by the Governor subject to the Utah Senate’s confirmation.